Dave DeCarlo
Analyst · Barrington Research. Your line is now open, please go ahead
Thank you, Mel. As you know, our corporate development activity entered in high level. We continue to develop relationship with those who we feel are the best independent firms in the nation. Our list is now over 50 firms, and many of them now realize that the best kept secret is our decentralized partnership model which is the perfect solution for their succession planning. Please note, as you know Mel, as well that these firms were not for sale when we knocked on their doors but I can tell you they are now thinking about it, let me tell you why. As I've said before, funeral home and cemetery owners are very proud in caring about their community, and when it comes to selling their business, they wanted to make sure they can protect their own legacy, their employees and maintain and grow the heritage of their families they serve. In fact, three of the four firms we visited last week, voiced these same three concerns to us because to them their biggest concern is what happens to their reputation in the community after the sale. And I can tell you that once I've started explaining the model, I can see their eyes light up, and they explain - when we'll explain our decentralized model because it is the perfect solution for their concerns. Think about it, once they partner with Carriage as a Managing Partner, they keep their name on their signs, not Carriage; they continue to run the business as owners, they are still the boss, they set their own prices, choose their own vendors, and basically determine their own destiny. And another key item in the model that they love is that Carriage takes care of the back office work, IT, HR, legal etcetera, things that distracts them from what they do best, and that is serving families. Because they realized by removing the distractions their life is better, and it allows them more time to serve their families which means they can grow their business and get rewarded through Carriage two incentive frame; one an annual plan for all their employees, including the management partners; and a very good five-year plan for the managing partner himself. So, on the business side you might be wondering if the model was so great, why aren't we making more acquisitions. Well, the reasons are simple; first, we are very selective in who we want to partner with; second, the price has to be fair and reasonable; third, there has to be opportunity for the partners to grow their business; and lastly, we want to make sure that the owners and employee would thrive in our decentralized culture. We have had our share of opportunities to partner with firms but decided not to or we're simply outfit but now we are saying that once these potential partners understand the model, they are starting to realize that what really matters to them is what happens after the sale. And choosing the highest bidder may not be the best choice for then as a result, especially if they want to stay and continue to run their own business. In summary, we have worked over the past year to develop these relationships that we have today and we are optimistic that our average will be producing results, and that's why we have included acquisitions in our overall and fourth quarter outlook. And we are going to continue knocking on doors at stake conventions participating in this circuit, and also launching a marketing campaign to expose the best kept secret in the industry, our decentralized model. We also are pleased to announce that we have added a true industry veteran to our team, Ken Stevens, who spent 20 years with Stuart Enterprises in Senior Executive roles and operations and sales, and then SCI appointed to manage and work with the FDC in the best in the firm they had to sell in 2014. I've known Ken and his family for over 30 years and we are pleased to have him as part of our corporate development team. He will be joined another season veteran, Michael Comby [ph] whose firm we purchased in 2012. Thank you.